Christopher Reeve Superman 7-Inch Figure by NECA – Toyark Photo Shoot

The NECA Christopher Reeve 7″ Scale Superman Figure is now making its way to Toys “R” Us store shelves, as well as shipping from WB. The figure is a scaled down version of the excellent 1/4 Scale Superman released earlier this year. The figure is part of a DVD promotion from Warner Bros. that allowed fans of DC Comics movies to grab a special edition figure along with a DC Movie. Also included in the promotion was an Adam West Batman and Heath Ledger Joker. The figures each come packaged in smaller version of their 1/4 scale boxes.

We have the Superman for review courtesy of NECA. You can check out our full review and over 60 photos of the figure by reading on.

Christopher Reeve 7″ Scale Superman Figure

Pros

Very good sculpt

Even better head sculpt than the 1/4 scale version

Fabric cape looks fantastic

Cool backdrop included

Excellent sculpt

Best Christopher Reeve Superman at this scale

Cons

Minor paint chipping on the wrists

Overall
The Superman figure was delayed by about a week, which is why it is just showing up in stores and shipping now. The figure comes packaged in a scaled down version of the 1/4 scale Superman box. The figure can be placed back in the tray and in the box for display or storage. Included is a Fortress of Solitude themed backdrop and a set of alternate swappable hands. Superman features about 20 points of articulation. Included is a fabric cape which is nicely tucked into the collar of the suit, which is a nice touch.

The overall sculpting is quite nice. The costume is nicely represented here, with even the fabric lines sculpted in. The head sculpt is specially nice. It seems to have been tweaked a bit compared to the 1/4 scale version. It seems to be an even better representation of Christopher Reeve, even though the 1/4 scale version was well done on its own. The articulation is very solid here. The arms have some great movement here, and you can achieve many of the iconic flying poses. The waist seems to be ball jointed, allowing for some solid “ab-crunch” style poses. the legs features movement at the hips, knees, boots tops and ankles. NECA somehow managed to tuck the cape into the outfit, which gives a much more cinematic appearance here. It’s attached really well, as I gave it a thorough pull to see how well it would hold up.

The figure also features some nice use of paint here. The head sculpt has some nice subtle gradations, giving the cheeks a bit more redness. I didn’t have any issues with the eyes or the deep black used on the hair. The hands are molded in blue plastic with skin toned paint over it. This makes for a nice, realistic look. However, the more you swap the hands, the more likely you are to see some paint chipping away at the wrist. It was fairly minor on the figure I had. Of note is that the wrist pegs seems to be thicker than the Batman hands, and I never felt like the pegs were going to snap off while swapping.

The Superman figure is a top to bottom excellent release. The paint, sculpting and articulation are all fantastic. It’s a fun figure to pose and looks fantastic side-by-side with either the Adam West Batman or the Michael Keaton Batman. You’ll be hard pressed to find a 6″ to 7″ scale Chris Reeve Superman that can top this one.

Yeah, all of the toys r us's in my area have them.. I just don't like it enough to get it. I don't think the paint is all that great on the face, especially on his mouth. Plus, I'd need a batman to oppose him which seems unlikely.

Yeah, all of the toys r us's in my area have them.. I just don't like it enough to get it. I don't think the paint is all that great on the face, especially on his mouth. Plus, I'd need a batman to oppose him which seems unlikely.

I see you must be a Hot Toys Collector for $250+ because your not going to find a better Joker like this one with actual PAINT at this price point.

I see you must be a Hot Toys Collector for $250+ because your not going to find a better Joker like this one with actual PAINT at this price point.

The only other Joker in this scale to compare is the Mafex one and while it arguably has better paint its actual sculpt doesn't look right. The hair on the Mafex one is too tall on top but not long enough on the sides and back, also something about the shape of the face feels off like it's a little too tall or the jaw isn't wide enough. NECA definitely has the better sculpting and actually gave him the scarring effect sculpted whereas it looks like the Mafex one just painted on the scars. I will say that the NECA figure doesn't have the smeared/sloppy look to the face like he had in the movie but reckoning that the Mafex one is a little over twice as much (or it was when it was new) the NECA one is easily the best in the scale and at price (plus the NECA one is 7" tall while the Mafex is closer to 6" tall). On a personal taste level I hate all of the glaringly obvious pose joints on the Mafex figure such as the elbows, NECA has visible joints but they're all ball hinges which keeps a smooth silhouette. Just in general I think double-hinged elbows look awful on figures wearing coat/jacket-like sleeves. I'm not against the Mafex figure in fact there was a time when I considered it since there were no other good Ledger Joker options but this NECA version blows it out of the water by price and actually looking like Heath Ledger, the NECA one is the Joker I've been waiting for.

Collectors have waited a LONG, LONG time for some very well done figures of these characters on this scale.

Mine is supposed to get to me on Friday or so and I might just pee my pants of excitement! Christoper Reeve IS Superman to me, everybody else is just doing their best impression of him (or not if that is the direction they want).

Mine is supposed to get to me on Friday or so and I might just pee my pants of excitement! Christoper Reeve IS Superman to me, everybody else is just doing their best impression of him (or not if that is the direction they want).

Be careful with joints locking in the elbows on Superman. Seen a few on Twitter that arms are breaking at that joint. I used a hairdryer on this, as I do with any figure that has painted joints.

I'm sorry, but I think that Superman looks terrible. The sculpt is fine, but no ab crunch? No waist, bicep, or thigh swivels? The cape looks as cheaply made as the one on the Burton Batman.

Maybe it is because I'm not into Reeve's movies so I have no blind loyalty towards it, but this figure is lacking in a lot of areas that matter to me.

First, the sculpt is great. Second, it's NECA not Mattel so there wasn't going to be any ab crunch, thigh swivels, or bicep swivels. Those joints are all unsightly and hurt the aesthetic. Third, it's not "blind loyalty" it's that those were the best Superman movies. At this price (even the $30 dvd option) there is no competition, this is the best Superman figure meant for adults/"serious" collectors.

First, the sculpt is great. Second, it's NECA not Mattel so there wasn't going to be any ab crunch, thigh swivels, or bicep swivels. Those joints are all unsightly and hurt the aesthetic. Third, it's not "blind loyalty" it's that those were the best Superman movies. At this price (even the $30 dvd option) there is no competition, this is the best Superman figure meant for adults/"serious" collectors.

I already said the sculpt itself is fantastic. I know it isn't Mattel, but the Burton Batman has articulation in the ab area. So do the Colonial Marines. There is no excuse for Superman not to have it.

As for those being the best Superman movies, not really. I find them to be mediocre at best. Sure, the Donner cut of 2 is vastly superior to its predecessor, the two sequels that came after, and Returns, but I'd put Man of Steel on the same level of it. Reeves' Superman movies just don't have enough action in them and they turned Luthor into a jokester while Man of Steel had way too much action. If you take the best pieces from both movies, you would have a pretty good Superman movie.

I already said the sculpt itself is fantastic. I know it isn't Mattel, but the Burton Batman has articulation in the ab area. So do the Colonial Marines. There is no excuse for Superman not to have it.

But Batman and the marines had torso armor to help hide or blend the joints. The excuse for Superman is that he's wearing tights so the joint couldn't be hidden. People complain enough about how the ab joints look on the Rambo and Rocky figures they make. I imagine more people would be complaining about it hurting the look if it had ab pose than there are currently people complaining about it missing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

As for those being the best Superman movies, not really. I find them to be mediocre at best.

Most people prefer the original Chris Reeve movie, his performance was way more Superman/Clark than any other. On IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic the 1978 original is the best.

I just got Joker and Superman in the mail! Superman actually does have what feels like a ball jointed waist which allows him to tilt in any angle. These two are awesome, just a word of caution to anyone who'll listen is that I used a hairdryer on 'em like Joe recommended before testing the articulation and it definitely helped. It was chilly today and these were left on my porch for awhile so I didn't want to take any chances. The disc for the Dark Knight was loose but it's okay, I'll probably try to trade in Man of Steel for something else at Hastings or something.

But Batman and the marines had torso armor to help hide or blend the joints. The excuse for Superman is that he's wearing tights so the joint couldn't be hidden. People complain enough about how the ab joints look on the Rambo and Rocky figures they make. I imagine more people would be complaining about it hurting the look if it had ab pose than there are currently people complaining about it missing.

I don't care how the ab joint looks, it should be a requirement for all toys.

Quote:

Most people prefer the original Chris Reeve movie, his performance was way more Superman/Clark than any other. On IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic the 1978 original is the best.

I'm pretty sure my opinion was obvious.

I agree, Reeves was a great Superman, but he was not a good Clark Kent. His Clark was a bubbling buffoon and a moron. Clark might come off as nerdy, but an accident waiting to happen he is not.

However, being a great Superman does not make your movies great. You need to have a great plot, great villains, and great action. The movies had none of those. Luthor was an idiotic lowlife, Zod was way too over the type and his two lackeys were hardly anything more than puppets (not to mention the flew in the air like puppets on strings). They lacked any sense of true action and they gave Superman powers on the fly in order to convenience the plot. Why bother kill Lois off if you can just bring her back with a quick reversal of the world? Where is the suspense when Superman can just retcon everything without consequences?

I don't care how the ab joint looks, it should be a requirement for all toys.

I think it most definitely should not be a requirement for all toys. When a company like NECA makes a toy that is meant for display above actual play then an ab crunch often hurts the figure's appearance and the appearance is kinda the whole point on these otherwise they wouldn't have bothered actually using Reeve's likeness. Mattel has already made dozens of good Superman toys when it comes to articulation, this one's strictly for the looks with pose for display options.

Of course it's obvious you're stating an opinion, that's why I use the gif. Also, every time I've used the Big Lebowski gif you've responded saying it's obvious you were stating an opinion but the point of me using the gif is to jokingly say we agree to disagree.